This application claims priority from Japanese patent application number 2000-115764, filed Apr. 17, 2000, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a docking station for a portable computer which is docked with and mechanically electrically connected to the portable computer to expand the function of the portable computer, and to a docking structure thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a docking station for a portable computer which increases the heat radiation in its docking state, and to a docking structure thereof.
2. Background Art
For the purpose of enhancing the function of a portable computer, a docking unit for a computer having a BAY structure (a structure having a housing space capable of housing devices, such as those of fixed-type and of detachable-type) has been known (also known as xe2x80x9ca docking stationxe2x80x9d).
Such a docking station for a computer (referred to as merely a docking station hereinafter) includes a power supply unit and mounts, for example, a device having a SCSI (Small Computer System Interface: a peripheral unit interface for a small computer), a device having IDEs (Integrated Device Electronics; a kind of a disc drive interface) as an interface, and an AT bus card (a substrate on which an extended bus is formed) which is able to connect communication devices etc., thus the docking station is also an expansion unit which may provide the portable computer having functions equal to a desktop computer level.
FIG. 8 shows a conventional and general docking station, with which a notebook personal computer (referred to as a notebook PC hereinafter) is docked as a portable computer.
A docking station 100 is a box-type which is shaped like an almost L letter, a front side of an upper portion of a station body which is shaped downwardly stepwise becomes a support surface 102 on which a notebook PC 120 is placed. The notebook PC 120 placed on the support surface 102 in an illustrated direction is subsequently pushed toward a back side of the docking station 100 (in a direction of an arrow A in this figure), that is, the notebook PC 120 moves along guides 104 on the support surface 102 to connect to an interface connector 106 so as to dock with the docking station 100.
A docking station having such a structure is described, for example, in Published Unexamined Patent Application Nos. 4-291028, 8-6668, and 9-97125 or the like.
In a recent notebook PC, a CPU which operates at high clock frequencies increases an electric power consumption, and also increases heating values within the PC as the electric power consumption increases. At the time of using the PC for image processing of moving pictures etc., a memory etc. on board of a graphical card also reaches to substantially high temperature since the data capacity which is larger than before is transferred and processed at high speed, so that the memory etc. can not be ignored as a heat source.
For the notebook PC, which may expand its graphical function, docked with the docking station which is equipped with such a graphical card, it is required to take further countermeasures against the heat because the PC and the docking station will generate high-temperature heat to each other.
High temperature within the PC reduces the speed of CPU and affects the CPU performance, since the notebook PC usually manages an operation of the system by detecting the temperature within the PC using a temperature sensor (namely, thermal management). However, as the notebook PC is equipped with thermal attachments such as fans for air-cooling the CPU and heat pipes for facilitating the cooling, it becomes easy to take countermeasures against the degradation, if limited to the PC alone, caused by heat generation.
However, in a state of mounting on the docking station as can be seen in FIG. 8, an almost entire portion of a bottom surface of the notebook PC is in contact with the support surface 102 of the docking station 100, so that the heat radiation from the PC bottom surface is extremely decreased. Therefore, even the thermal attachments would not prevent the temperature rise at that contacting portion, and the docking station side would also be affected by the heat. Consequently, there is a problem of causing a degradation in the whole system performance.
A purpose of the present invention, taking the above described facts into consideration, is to provide a docking station for a portable computer which is intended to increase the heat radiation in its docking state of the portable computer and its docking station, and to improve the performance which has been degraded by heat from the portable computer, and a docking structure thereof.
One aspect of the present invention to attain the above described purpose is a docking station for use with a portable computer, mechanically and electronically connected with the portable computer to expand the function of the portable computer, including: a station body being an almost sealed structure, containing a power supply unit and an device to expand a function of the portable computer; a connection portion provided in the station body, a front end portion of a bottom surface of the portable computer being supported on a placing surface at which the docking station for the portable computer is placed, and a back end portion of the bottom surface being supported in a position lifted from the placing surface for mechanically and electrically connecting a part of the back end portion thereto; an air intake provided at the connection portion to communicate an outside with an inside of the connection portion; and a fan unit for exhausting air inside of the connection portion and the station body, being communicated with the air suction opening through the insides of the connection portion and the station body.
In the above described docking station for use with the portable computer, a part of the back end portion of the bottom surface of the portable computer is mechanically and electrically connected to the connection portion of the station body so that both of them are docked with each other. The portable computer takes a position lifted from the placing surface, in which a front end portion of the bottom surface is supported on the placing surface on which the docking station for the portable computer is placed, and a back end portion of the bottom surface is supported by connecting a part of the back end portion to the above described connection portion. Thus, a space is formed between the bottom surface portion of the portable computer and the placing surface.
Once the portable computer and its docking station are operated in such a docking state, the fan unit is driven to exhaust a warmed air from the station body which is an almost sealed structure and from the connection portion. With the exhaustion, air from the outside is admitted into the connection portion and into the station body through the suction opening.
Thereby, this configuration stimulates the cooling of the connection portion in addition to the cooling of the electronic devices mounted within the station body. Further, the cooling for the portable computer side is also stimulated since the heat transferred from the back end portion of the portable computer to the connection portion is also radiated there. And yet at a non-contacting portion of the bottom surface of the portable computer, the heat radiation is increased by convection of air. Therefore, the heat will not remain at the bottom surface of the portable computer even in a docking state, the degradation of the system performance caused by the heat can be avoided.
Furthermore, a suction opening provided in the connection portion may be disposed to be located between the bottom surface of the portable computer and the placing surface of the portable computer and the docking station for use with the portable computer.
Thereby, air in the space formed between the bottom surface of the portable computer and the placing surface is sucked from the suction opening, and air at the surface of the portable computer is to be circulated forcefully. Thus, the heat radiation at the bottom surface will more increase.
Moreover, the inside of the connection portion may be a duct structure, this structure increases the volume of air flowing from the suction opening into the connection portion, and further stimulates the cooling of the connection portion.
Also, a connector for electrically connecting the portable computer provided in the connection portion may be adapted to attach to a chassis member provided within the connection portion.
For this chassis member, a metallic shield plate, for example, disposed against EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) is available. In this case, the heat transferred to the electrical connecting connector, which is a portion of the heat generated from the portable computer, is further transferred from the connector to the chassis member. However, a chassis member made of a sheet metal rapidly diffuses and radiates the heat and is located within the connection portion to be cooled by air which is flowing within the connection portion, so that a thermal conductivity of an entire connection portion is improved and provides a larger amount of heat radiation.
Also, one embodiment of the present invention is a docking structure for docking a portable computer with a docking station for the portable computer which expands the function of the portable computer through their mechanical and electrical connection, comprising providing a station body, which is an almost sealed structure containing a power supply unit and an electronic device for expanding the function of the portable computer, with a connection portion having an air suction opening allowing the communication of an outside and an inside of the station body, and with a fan unit communicated to the air suction opening through the inside of the connection portion and the inside of the station body for exhausting air inside the connection portion and inside the station body; and supporting a front end portion of a bottom surface of the portable computer on a placing surface on which the docking station for the portable computer is placed, and supporting a back end portion of the bottom surface in a position lifted from the placing surface to dock a part of the back end portion with the connection portion.
A docking structure according to the present invention comprising docking the portable computer with the above described docking station for the portable computer.